“We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.”
~ Maya Angelou
"Beauty is only an herb away", all-natural, holistic, handmade care for families and pets.
Guided by wisdom and knowledge from past generations, information often tucked away in quaint old books resurfaces to remind us that 'simple is best'.
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Friday, June 24, 2011

Don't Let The Garlic Scapes Escape!

Growing up my father always had a large garden, known then as a "truck patch". Yet, I don't ever remember growing garlic. Hard to imagine now since I can't imagine cooking without garlic.

Though many healing herbs can be labeled "wonder drugs", garlic deserves a special distinction. It is the second oldest medicine (after ephedra)and is even in the world's oldest surviving medical text, the Ebers Papyrus, an Egyptian medical papyrus dating to circa 1550 BC.

Before the Age of Antibiotics with the discovery of penicillin in 1928 by Alexander Fleming, garlic was relied heavily upon for the treatment of infection. The source ingredient in this wonder herb was discovered in the 1920's when researchers at Sandoz Pharmaceuticals in Switzerland isolated alliin. When garlic is chopped or chewed, the alliin comes in contact with a garlic enzyme, allinase, which transforms it into another chemical, allicin, a powerful antibiotic.

Known to reduce blood pressure, lower cholesterol, reduce the chance of blood clots, garlic's allicin and ajoene content stand the test of time for a healthy heart.
Diabetics use garlic to reduce blood sugar.
There is growing evidence that garlic can be used in the treatment of cancer.
AIDS patients can even see an improvement in immune function by taking daily galic cloves.

Those who grow hard-neck garlic know to snip off the flowering tops which encourages more energy to go to the growing bulbs beneath the ground. These tops are called scapes. They are considered a gourmet delicacy by chefs with their short 2-3 week season. By the end of June, farmer's markets have a good supply of these scapes, but since they are eagerly sought out by cooks, they soon sell out.

These young spikes have a very mild garlic flavor and can be used in any of the ways we typically use garlic. Sauteed, grilled, chopped for omelettes, chicken, fish, pizza, delicious all the way around. They can be frozen fresh for later use if desired.

If you grow your own garlic and time slips by and those scapes flower, you'll still get a good crop of garlic, though they may not be as large. The flowering tops are also edible or you can let them dry up along with the rest of the garlic leaves and then save them to plant for spring garlic greens (like scallions).

Three popular recipes to use these scapes are in a pesto, a pizza, and pickled:

Love, awe and respect for our natural world has always been a priority within our family, and we try to live accordingly. Over the years we have altered our landscaping in an attempt to provide a more environmentally friendly, native habitat.
Learning the true value of the environmental wonders all around us has
been a fascinating journey.

Personal decisions as a parent as well as a consumer are reflective of that ecofriendly attitude. In our attempts to reduce our exposure to potentially harmful additives, synthetics, and toxins internally and externally, we became interested in becoming more self-reliant and less dependent on commercial products.

Resources and books collected over the years provide me with the knowledge and wisdom passed down from past generations in order to produce handcrafted, holistic home remedies.